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New Ecom-Ohio Broadband Availability Map from TPG

"Access to the fast lanes of the networked world is an important asset for the state's technology base," said Frank Samuel, Science and Technology Advisor to Ohio Governor Taft.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

"Access to the fast lanes of the networked world is an important asset for the state's technology base," said Frank Samuel, Science and Technology Advisor to Ohio Governor Taft. Under funding from the Ohio Department of Development Technology Innovation Division, Ohio's Broadband Map will be accessible on-line in various formats, including overlays of key population and industry data. The web-enabled version of the map is expected to be available in July 2001, through the www.ecom-ohio.org site.

Ohio providers of DSL, cable modem service, and other broadband access have some of the most aggressive deployment schedules in the nation. Ohio's private sector investments in Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL)in Ohio, particularly by Cincinnati Bell, have raised the bandwidth bar statewide. "Ecom-Ohio's broadband map is a compelling demonstration of Cincinnati's national leadership in broadband access," said Chris Colwell, Vice President, Government Relations, Cincinnati Bell. "More than 82 percent of subscribers in Cincinnati Bell's service area have access to DSL, which ranks as one of the highest broadband deployment rates in the nation."

Ohio's cable industry also has one of the most aggressive broadband deployment schedules in the nation, notes Ed Kozelek, Executive Vice President, Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association. "The cable industry's aggressive deployment of cable modem service makes this the most utilized technology for high speed connections in the state. Comparably, the cable industry is unsurpassed in terms of statewide broadband deployment in the less urban, more rural areas of the state. The impact, especially on small businesses that depend on affordable broadband technology for a competitive edge, is significant to Ohio's economy. This remarkable high-tech build-out is a tribute to the ongoing entrepreneurial spirit of the cable industry," he said.

For the past two years, Ecom-Ohio has been quantifying the competitive advantages of that growth. "There are many measures of competitiveness in the network economy, but most of them look at entrepreneurial activity and venture capital formation. Ecom-Ohio's methodology looks at the actual capacity and performance of the network, and business practices as a whole. We hope other states will weigh in using similar benchmarks," said Pari Sabety, Director, Technology Policy Group.

"Ohio is the first state in the country to assess in depth its readiness to conduct e-commerce," said Richard Webb, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and formerly CIO of the state of North Carolina. "The project is serving as a roadmap for other governments as they work to define their roles in the digital economy." Both North Carolina and Maryland are initiating or conducting assessments based upon the Ecom-Ohio model. Ecom-Ohio is a project of the Technology Policy Group at OSC (the Ohio Supercomputer Center), the state's flagship high performance computing and networking resource. TPG is a recognized authority on real-world solutions to critical emerging technology policy issues.

Note to media: High-resolution digital files of the statewide map on the following page, and customized regional maps, are available from Peter O'Rourke, orourke@osc.edu, or 614-292-8676.

This data was collected by The University of Akron’s Center for Policy Studies as part of the ongoing ECom-Ohio project managed by TPG. "Ohio is the first state in the country to assess in depth its readiness to conduct e-commerce," said Richard Webb, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and formerly CIO of the state of North Carolina. "The project is serving as a roadmap for other governments as they work to define their roles in the digital economy." Both North Carolina and Maryland are initiating or conducting assessments based upon the Ecom Ohio model. The ECom-Ohio project is housed at OSC, the state's flagship high performance computing and networking resource. Support for the project comes from the following Ohio companies who provide steering committee leadership: NCR (Co-Chair) Nationwide Ameritech Ohio Health Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce Reynolds and Reynolds Exodus Communications National City Corporation Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association Worthington Industries PricewaterhouseCoopers Cincinnati Bell Qwest Sterling Commerce IBM